IronFilm

5 hours ago, mercer said:

My problem with the GH5, is there seems to be too much of a disconnect between amazing footage and shitty footage. It's like a redhead and since I'll probably be closer to the latter, I am hesitating buying one. For $800 cheaper I can get the D7500 and know I'll get exactly what I am looking for in a 4K image. And the 1080p 24p and 60p is just gorgeous and as cinematic as any camera in its price range... but I'll be losing 4K 60p, slow/quick function, variable frame rate and probably most importantly... 5-axis IBIS. I mean you can literally take a GH5... a small DSLR sized camera out into the world and shoot a guerilla styled short film or feature with most people being none the wiser. It doesn't get much more Indy than that. 

The reason there is so much amazing footage and shitty footage from the GH5 is because it is an amazing but cheap camera.

Thus you have both skilled and total n00bs using it! Remember it is not all about the camera, but the hands using it.

5 hours ago, webrunner5 said:

Yeah I don't understand how they, BM, have picked up the pace as much as they have with just going from 4k to 4.6k? They sure did some good Mojo on their processing to make it happen that is for sure. They are like night and day.

It has nothing at all about increasing resolution from 4K to 4.6K

They changed to a completely different sensor

I brought a Tascam DR680 because it was the best for its price for field recording. Kinda got a second one by accident... but a great back up situation to have two. Plus you can gang them together for a 14 track recorder. Or more!!

My bags are:

552: Petrol

DR680: Satchler

F4: Zoom

4 hours ago, webrunner5 said:

I know company's don't sell a lot of the higher end video cameras, but it is the pride of it, the keeping you in the brand of it that counts. Like I said, who the hell is jumping from a GH5 to a Varicam LT? They are 14k at the least. From 2k to 14k, yeah right! That right now is pretty much their stupid ass video camera gap!

Working on a short film next week with a Panasonic Varicam LT! Looking forward to my first time getting my hands on it.

I was kinda joking about a camera being a sensor in a box with a lens mount. But it does have a grain of truth... which is why cameras can be broadly similar. Just like why a Samsung/iPhone/HTC smartphone are all broadly similar too.

I think the F4/F8 criticism of their digital limiters is a tad overblown. Because when you dig into the details of how they work, it really isn't that bad. Plus limiters isn't something you should be relying upon on every take anyway.

5 hours ago, Kisaha said:

I am really skeptical about going 663 or Maxx

Why are you really skeptical about the 633??

5 hours ago, Kisaha said:

Another issue I have with Zoom is their ergonomics, seems too Sony a600 to me(!), I wish Edirol/Roland had a great new machine to compete with F4/F8, I really loved working with those back in the day.

Tascam is meant to be bringing out a nrw top end machine this year perhaps, looking forward to that as I've liked the Tascams I've used in the past.

5 hours ago, Kisaha said:

and Zaxnet is mostly excellent, to have NOT

Ehh??

5 hours ago, Kisaha said:

To go all in Zaxcom is a thing though (their wireless solutions seem excellent and pretty straightforward)

Going all in on Zaxcom gives you pretty darn incredible control over all your wireless TX units from your recorder itself while on the fly.

5 hours ago, Kisaha said:

but I like ergonomically the 6 series by Sound Devices (dead serious design and usability, plus the battery solutions) while I haven't used any Maxx or Nomad.

Sadly my experience with high end recorders is pretty limited. Own a Zoom F4 + Sound Devices 552 + 2x Tascam DR680

And played around a tiny bit with a Zoom F8, 788T, and a Zaxcom Maxx (happened to have them on various shoots, so played around with it but didn't trust to use it instead of my own equipment). And one shoot I did do with a 302/702 combo, and another done with a 302/H4n.

1 minute ago, Fritz Pierre said:

I can understand shipping a high priced item like this for 150 or 250 ...it would of course have to be completely insured but the listing that PannySVHS  posted a link to, listed the shipping costs at $850 in eBay....did not specify to where....just 850....smelled fishy to me...my sister-in-law who's a painter got caught up in a gigh shipping cost scam when somebody bought some paintings from her...maybe I'm wrong of course!

I saw $850 too, but I live in New Zealand... thus that seems extremely reasonable for me!

When I changed my location to something closer to the seller, it dropped to $150, also seems very reasonable to me!!

On 5/2/2017 at 1:07 AM, Kisaha said:

Here in Europe MixPre6 is 1000euros and 633 5000euros, not even close, I do not see owing a MixPre is stopping me later to buy a 663.

 

Think of it this way: "puts you a thousand euros further away from owning a 633", or a fifth of the price!

And when you already have a recorder you are pretty happy enough with (the Zoom F4!), then there is no point doing that :-)

On 5/2/2017 at 1:07 AM, Kisaha said:

The "entry level" Zaxcom has an (optional) UHF stereo transmitter that sends audio and timecode. If that is not enough, there is a "middle" solution with the name of Nomad (model 10 and 12)- Zaxnet and all; you are not getting that feature for cheap in anyway!

 

Yeah, want Zaxnet... but a Nomad 10 (or 12) is a heck of a lot of money to spend when starting out! Plus I'd rather have the smaller form factor of a Zaxcom Maxx, but with Zaxnet!

On 5/2/2017 at 1:07 AM, Kisaha said:

Also, do you have an opinion of choosing between F4 and F8 (except the obvious more inputs!)?

More inputs/tracks is kinda the *only* reason to go for the F8 (oh, and bluetooth), in basically every other way the F4 would be better. 

For most people (who are operating at an F4/F8/MixPre level) to have 6x XLR inputs (4 of which are phantom powered) is more than enough for their work. 

On 5/2/2017 at 1:07 AM, Kisaha said:

To be honest, MixPre's seem just amazing for the price, just put a couple of Sony batteries and keep recording for days, and the analog circuitry inside is not a couple of steps difference, is half the world.

 

I'd be very skeptical indeed to claim it is half a world better.... maaybe it is only a couple of steps better, if that. Wait for a bunch of reviews and head to head comparisons before drawing any conclusions. 

On 5/2/2017 at 4:57 AM, Cinegain said:

I hate when people say 'that phone? It's clearly an -insert brand- wannabe'. Dude, what are smartphones supposed to look like? Do you want to go back to the Nokia 3310 days just so it's different? Geez. Btw, actually you can, they re-vamped it. Still kinda sad the Craft cinema camera was a hoax. Would've loved a complete modular compact cinema camera system at roughly 2500 bucks.

Exactly, a camera is just a sensor with a lens mount. 

On 4/25/2017 at 0:16 AM, AaronChicago said:

That 300d is quite amazing. The amount of detail that they put into the lighting is astounding. Such as changing the pitch of 2 fans to keep it quieter. My entire lighting kit now is Aputure and Quasar Science.

I was very pleased to discover that nice little touch with the fans! Good job Aputure

On 5/2/2017 at 6:54 AM, Kisaha said:

Why it's still there for half a year though?

Because he started high? Then brought it down. 

Plus such very expensive niche items always do take a long time to sell.

On 5/2/2017 at 7:47 AM, mercer said:

Not many people can afford an Arri Classic or have the jobs that warrant one. 15 grand is a lot of money to pay unless you're doing some high end narrative work.

However at US$12K-ish (or $15K ish) that is really not that much more of a leap than a Sony FS7 / F5 / Canon C300 mk2 / etc, and those kinds of cameras are a dime a dozen! Seen on even very very cheap jobs. 

On 5/2/2017 at 6:04 AM, Fritz Pierre said:

You're right...just saw this listing....seems like an amazing price and very complete package...can't believe how far they are coming down in price!

 

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?350342-ARRI-ALEXA-Classic-968-hours-Highspeed-Licence-(120fps)-PRICE-TO-SALE-EU

Especially when  you remember that the sensor in the Arri Alexa Class is "EXACTLY" the same as what is in the latest and greatest and popular Arri Alexa Mini!

On 5/2/2017 at 8:08 AM, Fritz Pierre said:

Great price!....but hello!...look at the shipping costs!...there is a scheme afoot where one pays the shipping (usually very high) separately on an item with too good a price to be true...you pay everything....the camera never shows up, and you are refunded by PayPal...but the cost of shipping is gone?.

If you are local in LA the shipping is only US$150, which for such an item seems extremely reasonable.
Shipping is only expensive because you are so far away?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've been pondering which of the many time code options to invest in (as the choices have exploded lately due to NAB 2017!), and it seems like the "best" bang for buck option would be the Timecode Systems' UltraSync ONE bundle for US$915?  (1 x :wave + 2 x UltraSync ONE)

As that price/features ratio seems unbeatable! (although I wish I had a rough idea of what the Tentacle Sync E will be selling for)

Unless someone can make a compelling argument for Ambient NanoLockit / Tentacle Sync E / Betso TCX-2 / Denecke SB-4 / TIG Qbit / etc instead? I'd love to hear why!
 

2 hours ago, Kisaha said:

Sonosax Sx-R4+ is brand new in Sonosax's terms

Not brand new, as the news of that came out in 2014, and shipped in 2015. 

2 hours ago, Kisaha said:

633 and Maxx are perfect as they are, and if you can afford them, they will be fine for broadcast for at least the next decade.

Maxx lacks Zaxnet, a major reason to even consider a Zaxcom recorder in the first place. 

2 hours ago, Kisaha said:

@IronFilm You got MixPre 3 and 6, these are going to sell a lot and quality wise must be a notch up Zoom's F4/F8 with analog filters and limiters (and true knobs you can really turn!). 

 

MixPre6 (vs F4/F8) is one step forward and one step backwards. 

To get a MixPre6 would be a sideways "upgrade" for me, I'd rather keep that money in the bank for a future 633 (or similar) than to buy a MixPre6. 

On 4/29/2017 at 5:37 AM, webrunner5 said:

Well the Kinefinity Terra is pretty much a Chinese knock off of a Red for nearly Red prices. I don't see the point of having one. Best to just buy a later model Red used, and hey it works, and you have a upgrade path.

 

It is not a knock off, unless you regard everything that is vaguely square and  boxy shape that shoots greater than HD raw to be a "RED knock off", in which case the BMCC is a RED knock off too! ha

And it certainly is *NOT* "nearly RED prices", a kitted out Kinefinity Terra would cost way less than an equivalent new RED.

On 4/29/2017 at 5:37 AM, webrunner5 said:

A Arri, well rent one or be rich, Way out of most peoples budget.

Not necessarily true now you can pick them up for sub $15K

On 4/30/2017 at 0:32 AM, Hanriverprod said:

Dracast is releasing these bi-color 1x1 v-mount flexible leds cri and tlci of 95 for $199 and a set of three for $499. Exciting lighting options for budget filmmakers coming out of nab this year. Great times for doc and indie shooters.

Daaaaaaamn! That does seem amazing for the price. 

15 hours ago, Oliver Daniel said:

In 2017, it's definitely not the camera. It's the user. All of them can deliver great results, if you make it so. 

I've seen A6300 footage which at first sight I though was RED footage (these users happen to be very skilled). 

The GH5 will have crap loads of poor footage out there. It's price is very accessible and amateurs will be pushing around Vlog like you would an elderly person on the edge of a cliff. 

The GH5 in great hands will be a monster. 

I'm absolutely astounded by the 4k image from the A6500. I shot a paid music video project using only the A6500 and the 18-105 f4 in autofocus and absolutely no other gear at all (to see what would happen). I think you need to put the camera (and yourself) under pressure, it forces better results. This video might be out this week. 

 

Am very much looking forward to seeing that!

On 4/30/2017 at 1:40 AM, Fritz Pierre said:

I don't see any Alexa or Mini for under 25000 used in ready to shoot condition and the other cameras I consider are Panasonics (no reality basis in my discussion here...just fun speculation)...so to me the Canons, Reds or Sonys are not Panny target...image wise...the target is their market share though....but let's put a RED weapon in there....what is the cost of a used RED Weapon kitted out to shoot.... $9000 or in that range???...anyway...nobody knows and we can just dream about our subjective needs and what Panny will want for them...in 5 weeks we can play "who got the closest" and I'll probably be the farthest off ? 

 

Plenty of Arri Alexa Classics going for US$15K-ish

On 4/29/2017 at 4:17 AM, Don Kotlos said:

The only unannounced products that disappointed me were

1. a compact 4K ninja/ninja star/blade. 

2. BM pocket v.2

I was hoping for a Sound Devices 633 mk2 (or similar from Zaxcom with Zaxnet, or even from Sonosax or Aaton)

And I was hoping for a wideband small TX from Lectrosonics. 

6 hours ago, buggz said:

The new affordable Sound Device offerings look appealing to me also.

Speaking of NAB news, is there a favorite site for summaries, etc?

I check my favorite forums (such as this one! And jwsoundgroup), plus a few news sites such as newsshooter and redsharknews

Between all of those, I pretty much have everything covered. 

(plus I have my guilty pleasures of reading 43rumors/Sonyalpharumors/nikonrumors frequently)

Exactly, even an old Panasonic GH1 is still a better choice than many filmmakers out there get to make.

I've already been swamped reading all the new audio announcements related to NAB.... There are a ton of them! So so so many new time code options, plus the shocking announcement from Sound Devices of new low priced gear. And more!

8 minutes ago, Shirozina said:

Depends on what NLE you use.Davinci Resolve mainly uses the GPU.

 

Exactly. And is very demanding on RAM too.

On 21/04/2017 at 3:08 PM, webrunner5 said:

You must do Donald Trump's weddings to be able to have someone to afford that much gear!! Really, I mean really? 

That is the sweet sweet awesomeness of Panasonic, is very very extremely affordable to pick up their older cameras! I started out years ago with one Panasonic GH1, and over the years I've got very cheaply indeed: GX1/GF3/G3/GH1(another one!)/G6. Plus a little Nikon/Sony/Samsung/BMD in the mix too.

On 21/04/2017 at 6:16 PM, Orangenz said:

IronFilm is the real deal! 

Haha, thanks! Not sure about the truth of that...  But OK! :-D

Well it depends... Some post software does more heavily use GPU. 

Like I said, check out the gaming build guides for the gist of it, then tweak a little depending on the specific software you're going to be using

On 4/12/2017 at 9:31 PM, Kisaha said:

No sound man in his senses would prefer a lav to a properly positioned normal form factored mike.

If you think that "you just "mike the guy" and forget about it", you haven't miked a few people on a very important shooting or TV series/Film.

Why? Mostly physics.

1) size. There is so much you can do to a wee tiny capsule to achieve great sound. The good ones, are really expensive (DPA are my favorite)

2) Placement takes time, huge amounts of experience, and always, some luck.

3) Cloth/hair/movement noises

4) wireless have frequency issues from wi fi/mobile phones/whatever - cable is limiting and can be the worst solution of the 3 (boom/wireless lav/cabled lav)

5) change of sound depending of the talents movement

6) a $250 mic (a not uncommon price for a lav mic) is going to sound worse than a microphone that cost six times more. 

On 4/12/2017 at 10:00 PM, pablogrollan said:

I'm not a sound guy myself but my sound guy takes 5 minutes to set up a lav, and if done properly -which takes experience- you mike the guy and forget about it (there are many ways to hide the mic and protect it from cloth noises).

No, you do not just "forget" about it, you stay monitoring it and ready to troubleshoot any issues at a moment's notice. 

And that experience which you mentioned.... that takes YEARS to build up!

Editing PCs are a rather extreme niche of a niche, but the good news is there is a MASSIVE overlap between what makes a good gaming PC and what makes a good editing PC. 

Thus reading how to build guides for the optimal gaming PC at the moment for a given budget, often gets you 90% of the way to figuring out a good and close to optimal build for an editing PC. 

2 hours ago, Arikhan said:

4k RAW footage with the FS700 it's a complete different universe than the on camera 4.2.0 - but I even like the 4.2.0 when shooting ENG Run & Gun. Small bitrate, easy to "quick grade" (for quick jobs)...The RAW option is only for "extra shots" I need. After looking of some RAW footage graded out of the hand of an pro and compared with F55 footage, I was blown away by the IQ of the ancient FS700...

Is this footage comparison online?

They'd keep prototypes under higher security than just in a generic truck with all the other general standard show equipment needed.